A Forum for Orthodox Jewish thought on Halacha, Hashkafa, and the social issues of our time.

Friday, June 01, 2012

Outing Victims and Obstruction of Justice

Yankie Sigenfeld, Yossie Turnovsky, and Molly Shmeterer have one thing in common.
They were all victims of sexual abuse who refused to be outed. But in the interest
of justice for all victims and the prevention of future abuse of potentially
new victims, I have just outed them. Now their abusers can be tried in court
and they can testify against them.

I hope that I am not
crucified for outing them against their will. But I doubt that I will be
since the entire first paragraph is a lie. These are fictional names. I made
them up.

I just wanted to highlight in a dramatic way that Brooklyn DA
Charles Hynes (pictured) policy of not identifying abusers for purposes of protecting
victims who do not want it their identities known is not an all or nothing
proposition. While I understand and agree that all those who have credible accusations
of abuse against them should be known to the public, it is indeed unfair to their
victims if they choose to keep that information private.

The greater good may be served if their identities are known even if it means that victims’ identities may become known as a byproduct. But in
good conscience I completely understand the victims’ reluctance to be
identified. Identifying them against their will is in effect a psychological re-molestation
of sorts. I think it would do us all well to realize that.

The right thing to do is convince the victim that it is in
their, and society’s best interests to come out, testify, get treatment and get
on with his or her life, rather than keeping it all inside. But if they
continue to refuse to be outed perhaps they ought to be respected. Sometime the
greater good is not so great for the victim who just wants to be left alone.

In fact DA Hynes has just done a remarkable thing in the
area of sex abuse. He has in effect said that any rabbi who is told about abuse
and advises not to report it to the police can be arrested for obstruction of
justice. This flies in the face of Agudah claims that he was OK with rabbis
vetting reports of abuse and making decisions about whether they should be
reported or not. If a Rav decides not to report it, and the authorities find
out, it could spell big trouble for them.

Having said that, I understand the concern of Agudah
leaders. They want to make sure that accusations rise to the Halachic level of Raglayim L’Davar (credible evidence) which would allow a Jew to go to the secular
authorities. They interpret the Halacha of Mesirah as applying in our
day even in America. The only permissible way to report abuse directly to the police is if you
see it in progress. Otherwise the rabbis
get to decide if it should be reported.

I assume there are instances where even rabbis would agree
that there is a standard of evidence that will allow an abuser to be reported
even if it is not going on at that moment. The question is what that standard is.
And why it can’t be shared with the public. Why should each and every case be
subject only to the approval of a rabbi?

I have said many times, evidence of
abuse should perhaps be vetted to see if it is credible. But those doing the
vetting should be experts in the field, like the psychologists found in the special
victims units of police departments. Not by rabbis who are not trained for that
purpose other than perhaps a crash course in it. In my view that is not
enough training to gain the expertise to determine whether the evidence passes the standard of credibility.

Expert
rabbinic advice is is not only about knowing Halacha. It requires knowing as much as possible in the field of criminology and psychology.
Crash courses are not enough. No more than a crash course in Halacha is enough to Psakin a Shaila. To
me that means getting a formal education in these matters and practical
experience on the field. One without the other is not enough.

I don’t want rabbis to start getting arrested for doing what
they believe is following Halacha. But I do question whether they have enough
knowledge in all aspects of this subject to be actually following it.

This is basically what DA Hynes said in an interview in the
Forward. I think he’s right.

I don’t know how Agudah will respond to this, but
my hope is that they rethink their approach and advise their constituent rabbis
to comply with the law… and with the view of the Aruch HaShulchan that laws of Mesirah
do not apply in a country like ours. All credible reports of abuse
should be reported to the police. Let the justice system do the rest. The last
thing I want to see is Orthodox rabbis who are good and decent people
being arrested for obstruction of justice.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.